Friday, August 10, 2012

Fringe Festival 2012: Nightmare without Pants

Summary: A man from the ATF (the Bureau of Alcohol, Taxes, and Feet) has come to confront someone who did their taxes wrong. A woman comes forward out of the audience, and is told that in order to avoid punishment by an evil pony, she must fall in love in the next 45 minutes. After scouring the audience for a possible target, a man volunteers, and much mayhem ensues. Oh, and no one is wearing pants.

Highlights: Did the summary make sense to you? No matter, it's a wonderfully silly premise that leads to a hilarious exploration of memories, relationships, life, and happiness. Playwright Joseph Scrimshaw (of the theater company Joking Envelope) also stars as the ATF man who leads us through this adventure (beware of the first row, you might get picked on). The hilarious Shanan Custer plays our main character who tries to fall in love but is just too practical. Rounding out the fabulous cast are John Riedlinger as the "happiness counselor," John Middleton as "beer can mouth man," and Anna Sundberg as the enthusiastic and perky waitress. I laughed through the entire show and then was surprised by the almost poignant ending. "Oh life (hey life), why are you so unfair? You're full of stupid things, like school and boys and hair." Very profound question, and a sweet ending to a salty show.

Cherry and Spoon

The sculpture "Spoonbridge and Cherry" was created by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen in 1988 for the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden at the Walker Art Center, original site of the Guthrie Theater. I chose "Cherry and Spoon" as the name of this blog because it seems a fitting and recognizable symbol of the Minnesota cultural scene.